Kidnapped
by scrambled-eggs-at-midnight
Summary: Téa's been kidnapped. Again. Some times, it really sucks to be the King of Games's best leverage. Co-written with BeautifulWeddingFlower.
1. Chapter 1

_VB's note: I always dreamed the day would come that I would get to co-write a story, and finally, it's here! I get to write this fabulous YGO fic with the talented (and so much better than me) scrambled-eggs-at-midnight! She is amazing, and if you like this story, it's probably because of her prowess. I'm gonna let her talk, since she wrote the first chapter, and I'll see you in the next chapter! -VioletteBagans_

_Eggy's note: Aw. Thanks, VB. You give me more credit than I deserve. And, you guys, I know I've got, like, three fics going right now. Some day I'll learn how to plan better. XD Anyway, the first chunk of this was mainly written by me, using VB's outline. The second bit was pretty much written equally by both of us, but VB planned it all out. She's the mastermind behind this, no matter what she says. ;D We hope that all of you reading enjoy this story as much as we enjoy writing it. -Eggy_

_(Future A/N's hopefully won't be this long.)_

_Disclaimer: We do not own _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ or its characters. Any occurring OCs belong to us, and we take full responsibility for their actions._

* * *

><p>Téa shoved open her front door with more force than was probably necessary, slamming it shut behind her and leaning up against it with a loud groan.<p>

Today had not been a particularly good day, and the kind of tired she was feeling was definitely not the kind that was supposed to come after workout at the dance studio.

It was more like the kind of tired where her feet hurt and her back ached and her muscles were ready to give out, but the music was still playing in her head and she couldn't get her feet to stop moving in time to the rhythm of the annoying pop song on the bus ride home.

Sometimes, Téa had to ask herself why she had ever wanted to be a dancer in the first place.

She sank to the floor, stretching her legs out in front of her. When Yugi got home, he was so giving her a massage. And maybe some ice packs.

Téa sighed, closing her eyes. Staying with her headache pressed against the cool frame of the door didn't exactly sound like torture right about now, but Atem had to be picked up from his piano lesson in less than an hour, and she knew should probably get started on dinner so that there would be something around for Yugi to eat when he came home.

She could ask him to get take-out, of course, but they'd had that for the past three days and there was still leftover chicken in the fridge from Saturday's Chinese order...

Téa pushed herself away from the door with some reluctance, wincing at the pain in her ankles as she walked down the hall towards the kitchen. Screw fancy dinner, she was just going to throw some noodles in a pot and be done with it.

Fifteen minutes later, standing at the stove with an apron on and a pot of semi-congealed pasta shells sitting glumly in a pot in front of her, Téa decided that she really hated cooking.

"Screw it, we're getting pizza," she muttered, throwing down her spoon in defeat. "I swear, if Yugi wants home-cooked dinner, he can make it himself. I give up."

Leaving the pasta on the stove, Téa walked into the living room and dropped onto the couch, tucking a pillow under her head.

"Twenty minute nap," she promised herself. "Then—"

The door bell rang.

Téa opened one eye.

It rang again.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Téa stalked to the door and threw it open, barely remembering to arrange her face into a semi-pleasant expression before she scared the living daylights out of whoever she was going to be talking to.

Téa blinked when she saw two men in identical blackstaring somberly back at her.

"... Oh. Hello."

"Are you Mrs. Téa Mouto?"

"Yes, I am. Can I help you?"

"I'm afraid there's been an accident," the first man said, sounding apologetic. "Your son—"

"What—?"

"He's fine, but I'm afraid you'll have to come with us."

"... Can I ask where Atem's teacher is?" Téa asked. "Normally, I would have gotten a phone call, or—"

"I'm afraid Miss Emily is ill."

Téa felt her eyebrow quirk.

"She said to tell you that she would have come herself, if she could," the man went on, oblivious. "We just saw your son at the guitar studio, though, and I can promise you he's just fine."

"Of course," Téa said, stepping back. "Well, just let me go get my jacket, then, and I'll be right with you."

Téa left the two of them standing there and hurried toward the kitchen, but she ignored her dark blue jacket hanging where it was in hall the closet.

Instead, she reached into the cupboard above the stove and pulled out the first thing she laid hands on, wrapping her fingers tightly around the handle.

She heard a floorboard creak behind her and stiffened.

Then she turned around and smacked the first man from the door who had decided to follow her square in the face with the heavy frying pan in her hands, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Nice try, creep," she whispered. "I saw Emily Wilkins at the grocery store this morning. And my son doesn't play the guitar."

Keeping the frying pan in her hand, Téa reached for the phone sitting on the counter—

Only to find that it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?"

Téa whirled, raising her frying pan threateningly.

The second man laughed, dangling the phone from his fingers. "Sorry, girl. Too late."

Then he lunged at her, and the world dissolved into darkness.

* * *

><p><em>Tuesday, July 15th<em>_  
><em>  
>"Téa? I'm home!" Yugi called.<p>

No one answered him.

He stepped into the house, sliding his shoes off. "Hey, anybody here? I'm sorry I'm kind of late, but one of the guys who usually do the re-stocking had to take off early, so I stuck around to help out a bit."

Nothing.

Yugi frowned. Something was... off.

There was no noise, he realized. No one was pounding down the stairs, or playing music at full-volume, or cooking dinner. In fact, no one even seemed to be home at all. The house was silent and empty.

Yugi was a little afraid. For almost five years, Téa had practically made it her mission to have dinner cooked —or at least set out on the table, picked up from the nearest take-out restaurant— and music playing so that she could dance around the kitchen while she waited for him to come home. Today, though, the silence practically hung in the air like something tangible. He could have heard a pin drop.

It was... alarming, to say the least.

Yugi walked through his eerily-calm house, socks padding softly across the wood. "Téa?"

No response

All right, Yugi told himself. So his house was empty. Yeah, it was kind of _unusual..._ but it didn't necessarily mean anything was wrong. Maybe Téa had run to the grocery store. Nothing to worry about.

Yugi made his way across the kitchen, absentmindedly opening the refrigerator as he tried to figure out where Téa could possibly have gone. Did Atem have a dentist's appointment or something? No, that was set for next week. Maybe an issue at school, then? But he would be home already if that were the case. Yugi frowned at the half-empty refrigerator. Just exactly how late was he, anyway?

The phone rang. Yugi grabbed for it, still peering into the 'fridge. "Hello?"

_"Mr. Mouto?_"

"Uh, yes. Sorry, who is this?" Yugi said. He could always just cook something himself and surprise Téa when she got home. She'd probably like that. She hated cooking.

"_It's Miss Emily, Atem's piano teacher. Tell me, do you know where Mrs. Mouto is? She was supposed to pick up Atem an hour ago."_

Yugi slowly closed the refrigerator. Then he saw the previously-missed pot of abandoned pasta sitting on the stove.

"I- no, I don't know where she is. I'll come and get Atem right now, though. Thanks for watching him— I'm so sorry for the inconvenience."

_"It was my pleasure. See you soon."_

"O-off course."

_"Good-bye, then. I hope your wife is doing okay."_

Yugi stared at the phone.

* * *

><p><em>Tuesday, July 15th<em>

After picking up Atem, Yugi dialed Téa's cell phone.

_"Hi, you've reached Téa Mouto—well, I guess you haven't, since I can't come to the phone right now, ha... um, leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Thanks!" Beep._

"Damn."

"Daaaad!"

"Sorry, Atem!"

"Why are you calling Mom's cell, Dad?"

"Just trying to figure out where she is. Go back to doing your homework, okay?"

She was missing. She _had_ to be missing. Téa didn't go anywhere without her cell phone.

And taking into consideration the number of times his wife had been kidnapped...

He called the police.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hello? Nine-one-one, what is the state of your emergency?"<em>

"My wife is missing. I haven't seen her since this morning and she left her cell phone here. She never goes anywhere without her cell phone." If Yugi's voice sounded slightly frantic... well, this lady would just have to forgive him, and anyway, she should be used to that, she works for the freaking emergency phone line, surely she's heard worse—

_"Sir? How long has she been missing?"_

"Several hours."

_"Where was the last place she was seen?"_

"Here, I think. There's a pot of uncooked spaghetti on the stove."

_"Okay, I'm sending over an officer. Please remain calm—there may be a chance your wife is not missing."_

"All right…."

When the woman on the other end had hung up, Yugi set the phone down and bit his lip, thinking. Where could she have gone if she wasn't missing?

He spent the next ten minutes alternating between pacing around the living room and tapping his fingers on the table, trying to calm his nerves and think positively.

He failed miserably at both.

Finally, after what seemed like years, he heard Atem yell,"Dad! There's a policeman here!"

Yugi vaulted off the couch and met Atem at the door, giving his son a quick pat on the head before looking at the officer now standing in his hallway.

The man smiled at Yugi, then turned back to Atem, who was apparently in the middle of a riveting explanation.

"... And I was at the piano place for, like, _hours, _and then Miss Emily had to call my dad because my mom was supposed to pick me up but she never did, which is weird because she always comes and gets me, and sometimes she brings me an ice cream from Dairy Queen—"

"Atem," Yugi said.

Atem glared at him. "Daaad. I'm _trying _to talk to the officer!"

"Son, why don't you give your Dad and me some time alone?" the policeman said. "You can tell me all about it later, how about that?"

Atem looked at Yugi with big blue eyes. Yugi nodded.

"Go upstairs and watch TV."

"Sweet!"

When he ran off, Yugi drew in a shaky breath and looked at the man. "Would you like a cup of tea, Officer…?"

"Nicholson. David Nicholson. And no thank you, Mr. Mouto. I just need to ask you a couple of questions regarding your wife."

"Have you heard anything?" Yugi asked immediately.

"We received a ransom note a few hours previously," Nicholson said. "We just need to confirm it. Was your wife's name Téa Gardner?"

"It…it was…about ten years ago…that's her maiden name. She's been a Mouto for ten years now."

"Where did you meet your wife, Mr. Mouto?"

"We've been best friends since I can remember. We married a few years after high school."

"You are the famous Duel King, Yugi Mouto?"

"Yes. I suppose so."

"Was she involved in anything dangerous when you met her? Anything that she might live to regret?"

"No, nothing. She was my... well, she was almost like my own personal cheerleader in high school."

"We received a ransom note with your wife's name on it about two hours ago. Now that we know it's legitimate, we can begin following it," Nicholson said.

"What?"

"Yes. We'll find her, I promise."

"Oh…" Yugi brought his fingers to his mouth in understanding. "They're going to bring the gang together to find her…"

"The gang, sir?"

Yugi waved his hand. "An old group of friends. We went through a lot."

"A lot, Mr. Mouto?"

"It's nothing. We split up after a friend of ours…died."

"How long ago was this?"

Yugi smiled. "It's a long story."

"I have all night."

"Well," Yugi began, "after our friend Atem…died, we all went our separate ways. I took over my grandfather's game shop. Téa went to New York and danced on Broadway, coming home a few years ago to marry me. She teaches classes just down the street now; all the kids love her..."

"I see. Anyone else?"

"Tristan went into Dungeon Dice Monsters with Duke. Joey found Mai and they settled down. Ryou got married—his wife's name is Sarah—and moved to the States with her. We all moved on and grew up. We don't dwell on the past, Mr. Nicholson. Atem taught us better than that."

The officer was writing this down. "I think I have enough background information on her, but if you think the rest of these people are going to be involved, I may need to pay the ones who are in town a visit."

"Of course."

"If I could have a picture of Mrs. Mouto?"

"Oh, sure. Just a moment." Yugi jogged to the living room and came back with a silver framed picture of Téa from a few years ago, which he handed over to Nicholson. Téa was laughing and hugging him in the photo, smiling at whoever was taking the picture behind the camera, her mouth open to say something, her arms around Yugi's neck.

"This was taken the day she found out she was pregnant with our son," he said quietly, tucking his hands into his pockets and looking towards the stairs. "He's got no idea his mom is missing."

"I—" Nicholson seemed to think better of whatever it was he was going to say "Thank you, Mr. Mouto. We'll be in touch."

Yugi nodded and showed him out, closing the door behind him.

Then he took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, staring down at the rug his aunt had given them last Christmas. Téa's shoes were still sitting neatly along it's edge.

"Atem?" Yugi called after a moment. "Come here."

"Yeah, Dad?" Atem said, appearing at the top of the stairs.

"Your mother's missing."

"I know, Daddy. I heard you talkin' to officer Nicholson."

"We're gonna find her, okay?"

"I know you will, Dad."

"Okay. C'mon. We're going to Uncle Joey's for dinner."


	2. Chapter 2

**EDIT: Reposting this because of stupid shit Eggy missed the first time through. Nothing big has changed, so no worries, carry on, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.**

_VB's Note: VioletteBagans here! I told ya' I would be back. *dances* This is the second chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. Anyways, not all of this can be credited to me, because my loverly Eggy edited and re-wrote my crappy parts. I love yous, Eggy! :3_

_Eggy's Note: VB gets most of the credit for this one. Next chapter will be done mostly by me. Thank you for reading! (Sorry it's late, but my computer crashed. OTL) This chapter was posted twice because of formatting issues._

_Disclaimer: The standard ones apply_

* * *

><p>It was dark. She realized that even before she opened her eyes.<p>

Okay, Téa thought. Dark isn't necessarily bad...

She tried to sit up and felt something strain against her wrists.

Okay, tied up. That WAS bad.

It was dark and she was tightly tied up. Not really a very good combination, she thought grimly. Even as she struggled to be free, the knots themselves seemed to grip tighter on her wrists.

Téa was trapped. And she didn't even know why.

... Well, okay. She could hazard a guess.

Darn it, didn't she leave the kidnapping thing behind when Atem went into the afterlife? What local nutcase had a grudge against Yugi _now_?

It was only to be expected really, with her track record. It was like she was a magnet for revenge-driven creeps.

Téa had known exactly what she was getting herself into when she fell in love with and married Yugi Mouto. She knew—slightly subconsciously—that she would be subjected to the media, jealous fangirls, and irate opposing duelists. But, hey, she was a Broadway star— she knew how to deal with publicity.

Anyway, she had been friends with Yugi before they fell in love. She hadn't gotten married to a man who used to save the world like it was going out of style without thinking of the consequences.

But she really was starting to get sick of being kidnapped.

As Téa screamed against her gag and pulled furiously at her bonds, thoughts of the warehouse that Marik had brought her and Mokuba to when she was seventeen sprang unbidden to her mind. She pushed them back, focusing solely on getting free.

Finally, though, exhausted, Téa had to admit defeat. She sagged against a wall (presumably—who _knew_ what was in this room?) and tried to catch her breath.

Suddenly, a door slammed opened, flooding her with almost blindingly white light.

Téa cursed against her gag and rolled over on her other side. The light had illuminated a small room, with a bed and desk pushed up against the wall. The floor under her was made of stone, but there was a dingy carpet covering most of the room that didn't loom much more pleasant.

Someone chuckled. "Welcome back to earth, Mrs. Mouto."

Téa had never been much inclined to swear, but if she could've right then, she probably would have cussed out the man to within an inch of his life. As it was, all she could do was let out a muffled squeal when she was suddenly lifted up into the air. Something tugged at the ropes holding her hands behind her back, and then her arms fell free.

She was dropped and shoved forwards onto the bed before she yanked the gag out of her mouth and turned to scream at the man.

She caught a glimpse of red and black streaked hair— and see if she wasn't reporting THAT to the police first chance she got— before the door shut behind him and the lock clicked.

She was once again in darkness.

"Shit," Téa muttered.

* * *

><p>"Yugi!"<p>

When Joey opened the door, the look on his face told Yugi that he was expecting some answers right away. "Some" meaning "a whole freaking lot."

Atem greeted his favorite uncle with a hug and dashed off into the house; probably to where his Aunt Mai was cooking.

Yugi accepted Joey's hug and shuffled out of his coat without a word. He was waiting for Joey to ask. After all, a thirty-second phone conversation on the way to the car didn't leave much time for explanations, and the question was practically forcing itself out of Joey's mouth by the time Yugi had gotten his shoes off.

"So…ah…what are you doing here? I mean, don't get me wrong, you're welcome here anytime and you know that…but we were expecting Serenity and Tristan, not you and Atem and— hey, where's Téa?"

"That," Yugi said with a sigh. "Is the million dollar question, Joey. She's…she's…gone."

Joey's eyebrows furrowed. "Whatdya mean she's gone, Yug? Like, left you gone? Holy shit man, I—"

"No, Joey, she didn't leave me. I— I think she was kidnapped."

"What? Yugi, that's kind of—"

"She wasn't home when I got there, Joey. I called the police and they said that a ransom note had been turned in with her maiden name on it."

"Hey, man," Joey said, "it's okay. Just, like... I dunno, breathe or something."

"I'm scared, Joey," Yugi said. "I don't know where she is or who could have done this!" He wasn't going to cry about this. He hadn't cried since the day Atem left for the afterlife, and he wasn't going to start now.

Which didn't mean that he didn't want to.

Joey rubbed his jaw and laid a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "We'll find her. We always have. Mai!"

Mai appeared at the dining room doorframe, anxiously twisting her apron. "I heard," she murmured. "We need to get the gang out here."

Joey nodded in agreement. "Forget the police— don't look at me like that, Mai, I'm serious! Tristan and Serenity should be here any second… Ryou and Sarah are vacationing here with Amane, so call them… and call Duke."

"Wait, what about Kaiba?" Yugi asked. Joey scowled.

"I am not calling Kaiba. I refuse. Besides, I don't have his number."

"I do," Yugi muttered, pulling out his cell phone.

He was almost knocked over as Tristan and Serenity burst through the door.

"We have big news!" Tristan announced joyfully, "and it's not that Joey's officially is old 'cause he's having people over for a dinner that isn't microwaveable!"

Serenity laughed and held up her left hand.

"I'm getting married, big brother!"

Joey exploded. He had Tristan up against the wall in less than half a second.

"You sonnovabitch, what happened to asking first, huh?"

"I DID ask! I asked HER, and she said YES, so SUCK IT!"

Then Joey tackled him in what could only be a hug, complete with good-natured punches as they rolled to the floor.

"Oh my god, hun, that's wonderful!" Mai was squealing. "You have GOT to let me take you shopping; I know just where we're going to get your dress..."

Yugi dropped himself in the recliner, trying to get ahold of Kaiba.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey, Kaiba. It's Yugi."

_"What do you need? I'm very busy."_

Yugi took a deep breath and swallowed. "Téa has been kidnapped."

_"Again?"_

Despite everything that had happened, Yugi actually laughed at Kaiba's nonchalance. "Yes, unfortunately. Are you and Mokuba really busy? We need everyone over at Joey's house to discuss this, and try and figure out who could have taken her."

_"Just what makes you think I care, Mouto?"_

"Kaiba..." Yugi sighed. "Please? As…a favor to an old friend, and—"

_"Yugi—"_

"— and I'll owe you for it later."

Kaiba sighed, long and loud on the other end. Then, finally, _"…Where's the mutt's place?"_

Yugi told him, and after a hurried goodbye, he found himself dialing Ryou's number.

_"Hello, Yugi. How are you?"_

"Hey, Ryou, I hate to interrupt your dinner, but we need you over at Joey's place now. It's an emergency. Just…just bring Sarah and Amane. Please, Ryou?"

_"Um…okay, we're on our way then. Goodness, what happened?"_

"We'll tell you when you get here. See you in a second."

_"Oh, sure. Okay. Bye."_

He meant to call Duke, but Mai caught him and said that Joey was already on the phone with him, so Yugi sagged in the chair and pondered over his recent enemies.

Granted, there weren't many. He only did tournaments when he could, because running his grandfather's game shop took up a lot of time. But he was still undefeated, and considered the Duel King. Téa and Atem accompanied him to all the local competitions, and he knew they were seen often, because announcers always listed a ton of details about the two contestants as they dueled.

Who had been the last person he dueled, then? Someone from America who was really pissed off that he lost….

Mark… something, Yugi remembered. He had started screaming that Yugi would regret the day, and then somebody with strange hair— not that Yugi was in any position to talk, of course— had dragged him off the field.

Okay, so this Mark person was definitely at the top of the list.

Who else?

The doorbell rang, and then in swept the Kaiba brothers, one looking concerned, the other like he could think of ten hundred other places he would rather be, all of them with fancy computers and none of them being Joey Wheeler's house.

"Hey, who's this dick getting my new carpet dirty?" Joey said, walking into the room and scowling at Seto.

He was met with a sneer in return. "Nice to see you can even afford a carpet, Mutt."

Yugi sighed. Some things never changed.

"Hey, Joey!" Mokuba said lightly. He was almost as tall as his brother now, and his voice was quite deep, but he still smiled like a child— all innocence.

Okay, MOSTLY innocence. But it still counted, these days.

Joey shook hands with the younger Kaiba and walked him towards the direction of the kitchen, talking about the wonderful food Mai had cooked and pointedly ignoring Seto, who turned and sat down across from Yugi.

"When was the last time Téa was known to be home?" he asked abruptly, snapping open his suitcase and revealing a built- in laptop that sprung to life immediately as soon as he flipped it open.

"Standard KaibaCorp. technology, Taylor," he said, fingers hovering over the keys. "Keep your eyes in your skull. Yugi?"

"She was home around… four-thirty, I'd say?" Yugi guessed. He hadn't gotten home until six, and Atem's piano lesson was from four to five, so he guessed she had gotten home roughly around that time. Kaiba nodded and typed something into the laptop.

"And… the house was just… empty?"

Yugi nodded. Kaiba swore under his breath and then turned the laptop around to reveal a blue screen. "The blue screen of death," he deadpanned. "My mortal enemy."

"What does that mean?" Yugi asked. Kaiba smirked.

"It means I have nothing on Téa. Nothing whatsoever. Your wife is officially off the radar."

When Yugi just looked at him blankly, Kaiba sighed and rolled his eyes. "You didn't expect me to let you guys go without some sort of tracking device so I could help you when you came begging me, did you? But Téa's is gone. Like someone ripped it out and crushed it."

"You put a _tracking device _on Téa?" Joey yelled from the kitchen, emerging with a scowl. "Dude, that is all kinds of messed up, even for—"

Kaiba snorted. "Don't flatter yourself. I just used what was already in play. I copied the chip from Téa's cellphone and transplanted it. Don't think it's any worse than your Duel Disk, Wheeler. I can still track that, too, if I wanted."

Joey's expression went from confused to stunned to positively horrified. "Why you—"

"Where is this chip located?" Yugi asked.

"Hers was in the necklace she always wears… the Egyptian one."

"Oh no. She never goes anywhere without that necklace; it has Atem's name on it."

"It was probably crushed, and that's why I have a blank screen. As advanced as KaibaCorp. technology is, if I don't have a handle on the tracking device, then—"

The door slammed open, and Ryou, Sarah, Amane, and Duke burst into the house. "Hey, hey, hey!" Duke yelled.

"Oh man, you guys, listen to what Kaiba did, he put a _tracking device_ on, like, all of us, and now—"

Yugi sighed and dropped his face in his hands. It was going to be a long night


	3. Chapter 3

_Eggy's Note: So sorry for the lateness. OTL. I'm only getting off my butt to do this now because VB asked me to. (Using puppy dog eyes. I mean, come on.) Happy birthday, love. Have a chapter three._

_Disclaimer: the standard ones apply_

* * *

><p>Kaiba, of course, declined Mai's offer to stay for dinner, closing his laptop with a snap and brushing off his trench coat like the chair he was sitting on had dirtied it.<p>

For all he knew, it could have. Who the hell knew where Wheeler got his furniture?

"I have more important things to do than make small-talk with the local cheerleading squad. But thanks all the same."

Mokuba popped out of the kitchen. "Oh, no you don't. We haven't seen these guys in ages, Seto. Anyway, we're here to help, right? We're not going to be much help if we're not even around."

"Ha! Like we need him!" Joey shouted from the kitchen.

"Can it, Mutt!"

"Seto, come on," Mokuba pleaded.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Mokuba," Kaiba said dryly, "I have a company to run."

"So run it later." Mokuba had his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Seto. "Come on, bro. Our friends— don't give me that look, you wouldn't have stuck around this long if you didn't give some sort of a shit— need our help. We can't just leave them."

Kaiba sighed. "I can't believe we're having this argument over something as stupid as where I'm going to eat dinner." But he set his briefcase down again, earning a whoop from his brother and a loud curse from Joey.

"And watch your language, Mokuba."

"Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

"If we're done here," Mai said, "dinner's getting cold. I suggest we take this into the dining room."

"Since when do you cook, Valentine?" Kaiba asked, stepping easily around Joey and heading towards where he assumed the dining room had to be in this tiny place.

"Since I stopped playing card games for a living, Kaiba."

"I don't play cards for a living— I run a multi-billion dollar company. Believe it or not, there's a difference."

"Could have fooled me," Joey muttered.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

"Hey, it's my house! I can say whatever I want!"

"Kaiba's right, hon— shut up."

"So, what's for dinner?" Yugi cut in loudly, shoving Joey into a chair and sitting down next to him. His kid was already at the table, playing a particularly loud drum solo with his silverware.

"Roast chicken," Mai said, bringing in a platter and setting it down on the table. "And Joey, if I hear one 'not chicken again' complaint out of you, you're eating broccoli for a week."

"Cool it, woman," Joey muttered, reaching for the gravy. "I LIKE chicken."

"Well, everything looks very nice," the girl sitting beside Bakura—what was her name? Sarah? — said, smiling.

Seto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why were all of Yugi's friends such horribly pleasant people? It was practically sickening.

"So," he said to her. "When did you join the friendship squad?"

"Oh. Well, I met Ryou a few years ago in college, so I'm not really sure what's going on here. Apparently this is something normal for you guys." Her laugh was slightly nervous.

"Really," Kaiba said. "I hadn't noticed."

Mokuba kicked him from under the table— that kid was so grounded— and glared. "Be nice."

"So, how long are you here for?" Tristan asked, elbowing Duke in the side when he failed to pass the potatoes. ("Dude, come on, you move like my grandma.")

"We were planning on staying a few weeks," Ryou said. "I guess we might be here a bit longer now, though."

"Thank you guys for helping," Yugi said. "It means so much."

Kaiba snorted. "Please, Yugi. Not while I'm eating."

Yugi gave him a weak smile. "Sorry, Kaiba. So, ah, where do you think we should start?"

"Why are you asking me? She your wife; who do you think would want to take her?"

"I do have a few theories."

"Spill, then," Joey said. "Whodunit, Yug'?"

"Well, there was this one guy— Mark-something— who kept threatening me after he lost that tournament a few months back."

"You think someone kidnapped Téa 'cause he lost a tournament?" Duke said, sounding skeptic. "I mean, yeah, I'm sure he was pissed, but is it really worth _kidnapping_ someone over?"

"It wouldn't be the first time," Serenity pointed out. "Remember Battle City?"

Kaiba hadn't even remembered she was there. There were too many people in this damn group.

"Anyway, he didn't just lose the tournament," Yugi said. "He lost a lot of money, too."

"Okay, but we can't very well have a one-suspect list," Duke said. "Who else?"

"Howzabout Scott, from piano class?" Atem yelled out, continuing to shovel food in his mouth between words. Kid took after his "uncles." Atem swallowed, breathed, and looked at the very confused adults, pointedly ignoring Amane's lovestruck gaze. "You know…the guy who kept pinching Mom's ass when she dropped me off? The bum loser?"

"Language, Atem," Yugi warned. "And he got caught selling drugs a month ago."

Atem rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but he was there last week, making eyes at Mom. She was really creeped out."

"Okay, so we have Mark— the guy who hates Yugi—and Scott— the creepy, stalker dude. Lovely," Joey said. "Anyone else?"

Try as they could, no one could come up with an idea of who would kidnap Téa. Eventually, the talk turned from Tea to their lives now to Serenity's upcoming wedding to Joey's love life to Atem and Amane to Kaiba being a coldhearted douche still. Yugi was the only quiet one as he ate.

Kaiba stabbed a potato vehemently and glared at nothing in particular. Personally, he thought, he was going to be really damn happy when all of this was over. Mostly because he didn't think he could stand feeling sorry for _Yugi Moto _any longer than was absolutely necessary.

* * *

><p>Téa didn't know what time it was. She only knew how hungry she was and how dark and cold it was. She shivered and brought her knees closer to her chest, trembling against one of the cold stone walls that her prison was being held up by. The darkness was all around her, clawing at her insides and pressing her deeper against this cold, hard, unforgiving wall because she would be damned before she went over on that bed and tried to huddle under the probably thin and dirty sheets. Again, she shivered and screamed once more, because maybe, just <em>maybe<em>, Yugi or Yami (_Atem,_ _Téa , Atem)_ would hear her and come to save her.

Or, maybe, she would just die here.

_Okay_, _good thoughts,_ _Téa_ _…Yugi's always saved you. Always. _

She closed her eyes, relaxed her body to the coldness, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_Eggy's Note: Heeeey. Look who's still around. The lateness of this is all me, guys, because, apparently, keeping five different fics updating at once is _not a good idea _and will lead to various states of overwhelmed on the author's part. Thank you for continuing to read! The first part of this was written by VB. Everything else is my fault._

_Disclaimer: See previous._

* * *

><p>Téa woke to the sounds of soft breathing and quiet shuffling around her.<p>

She jerked up in surprise and opened her eyes, squinting against the gloom. From the corner, a bright-eyed child with short, mousy brown hair watched her excitedly.

As soon as he saw her looking, the boy smiled widely and waved from his spot on the bed her kidnappers had provided. "Hello, Mrs. Mouto," he said cheekily. "I hope you slept well."

Téa narrowed her eyes and kept her mouth shut.

The boy watched her for a few seconds before shrugging and getting to his feet. He couldn't have been taller than Yugi was when he had been in high school. "Glare at me all you'd like, Téa, I don't care. All I'm after is the title your husband holds."

"You're the crybaby at the last tournament who vowed you'd get revenge," Téa said, before her own hand clamped over her mouth. Best not to speak unless that bigger fool with the red hair came barging in and beat her up again.

It was a weak sort of defiance, but it felt good.

Better than screaming until her throat was raw, anyway.

The boy's smile just grew. "Yes. Mark Salinity at your service," the he said with a silly grin. He bowed mockingly.

"But you're just a child, aren't you?" Téa said without thinking.

"I am not a child!" Mark shouted, stamping his foot.

Téa raised an eyebrow. "Really."

"I'm twenty!"

"Well, you're acting like my seven year old. And who the hell kidnaps people anymore? Isn't the new thing to sue them?"

"Shut up!" Mark said. He crossed the room in long stride to shove her with both hands against the wall. "For your information, my brother told me it'd be much easier to kidnap you and blackmail Mouto into another duel. That way I can beat him properly, because he cheated in our last somehow. There was no way he could have won. No way at all."

Now, where had she heard that before? Wasn't Kaiba spinning the same weave about ten years ago?

When Téa didn't answer, Mark let out a groan of frustration and stormed out of the room.

Before Téa could think to question what he had even hoped to accomplish, Mark stormed back in with a tray of food. He slammed it down on the bed, then turned his back on her and added, "The sheets aren't bug ridden, you know. We just changed them." Then he slammed the door.

Téa sat on the floor for a minute, then pushed herself up, grabbed the tray of food, and contemplated throwing it at the door.

Then her hunger won over her pride, and she picked at her green beans in stony silence.

* * *

><p>"Yugi. Yugi man, wake up."<p>

Yugi stirred and opened his eyes to the harsh light coming from the open window. He yawned loudly and glanced around the smallish living room with a smile before yesterday caught up with him and hit him in the face with its terrifying reminders.

_Téa. Gone. Held for ransom._

When did this become his life, anyway?

_That's such a stupid question, _the voice that sounded not-so-surprisingly like the Pharaoh pointed out. _You should have figured out by now that this is your life, has always been your life, and will never stop being your life, so you might as well suck it up, get used to it, and actually do something useful today instead of freaking out._

Funny, he didn't quite remember the Pharaoh being so snarky.

Across the room, Atem sat up and rubbed at his eyes tiredly before spotting his father. "Hey, Dad. What now?"

_Good question_, Yug wanted to say_. Extremely good question_.

"Now, breakfast," he said instead, scrubbing a hand over his eyes. Food first, think later. "Joey, is everybody else up?"

"I think Ryou and Sarah are in the kitchen. They got here maybe twenty minutes ago. Duke's probably reapplying his eyeliner in the bathroom or something, Tristan and Serenity went to get stuff for food, Mai's in the shower, and I'm pretty sure Kaiba never went to sleep. Friggin' robot, staying up on my couch all night, wasting my air…."

"But Uncle Joey, if he's a robot, he wouldn't _need _any air, right?"

"Oh, aren't you the cheeky one? Yug, remind me to never have any brats of my own, yeah?"

"Tell you what, why don't you just borrow this one sometimes?" Yugi said absently, fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. God, he needed coffee. Why didn't mornings after traumatic experiences just automatically come with coffee?

"Daaad!"

"Sorry."

Tristan and Serenity came back from the store twenty minutes later, laden with milk and cereal boxes, shouldering their way through the crowded kitchen to dump their bags on the table.

"Breakfast of kings," Tristan said, tossing a box of Froot Loops at Yugi.

"Dad, Amane keeps following me!"

"Hon, stop following Atem."

"But Momma!"

"Listen to your mum, Amane," Ryou said, depositing a bowl in his daughter's hands. "Here, have sugar."

"Um, Ryou?"

"Yes, Sarah?"

"… Never mind. You can chase her around the house later."

"… Oops."

"Hey, look, cartoons!" Mokuba said, steering the kids out of the kitchen and into the living room with their bowls. "Go rot your brains out for a while."

"Thanks, Mokuba."

"Any time."

"So, plan of action?" Joey said around a mouthful of Captain Crunch.

"We have to visit the police station sometime today," Yugi said.

"And the KaibaCorp. building," Mokuba said, coming back into the room. "We've got better tech."

"Where'd Moneybags go, anyway?" Joey asked. "Did he get tired of gracing us lowlifes with his presence?"

"He had to work today," Mokuba said. "He's got a lot to do."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Joey snorted. "He probably has to go polish his dragon plane, right?"

"Play nice," Mai said, whacking him upside the head with a dish towel.

"Maybe we should form some sort of search party," Sarah said, folding her hands around a mug of tea. "That's what people normally do when someone goes missing, right?"

"I don't think it's that simple," Duke said, entering the room. "Hey, Froot Loops!"

Yugi handed him the box. "Duke's right. I mean, I think it's a good idea, but I feel like whoever did this is probably not your average criminal."

"How do you figure?"

"He didn't leave evidence, for one thing," Mokuba said. "Seto already had our people search the place."

"Before or after the police?"

"Before." He met their stunned expressions with a shrug. "We've got connections. Anyway, there's nothing. And it was a breaking and entering job, too, which wouldn't have been easy. I mean, it's not exactly a piece of cake to grab someone out of a house without alerting the neighbors or some kind of security system." He rolled his eyes. "I should know."

"Okay, so it's a classy criminal," Joey said. "Not exactly all that helpful. We still don't know where Téa is or why they took her."

No one had anything to say to that.

Finally, Tristan said, matter-of-factly, "I think Duke did it."

Duke choked on his cereal. "What?"

"He's probably got her tied up in his basement or something."

"Really funny, Taylor."

"Well, it can't hurt to check, right?"

"Not helping, Tristan," Mai said.

"Look, me'n Yug can talk to the cops," Joey said. "Mokuba and his people can run the underground work—see if they can find anyone who fits some kind of card game-related MO, if this guy really is after Yugi's title. The rest of you can split up. Some can stick around here, the rest of you go look for Téa."

"Do you really think that they're just going to have her locked up around the corner somewhere?"

"I don't know, then talk to neighbors! Put up posters! Just do _something."_

"I'll stay," Sarah said. "I don't know anything about this place, so I'm not going to be much help in a search."

"Why don't Mai and Duke come with me to dig around, and Sarah, Ryou and Serenity stay here?" Tristan said.

"Keeping me out of the action?" Serenity said. "No way."

Tristan shrugged. "'S worth a shot. Besides, we're just looking. It's not exactly action."

"Awesome," Joey said before Serenity could protest. He grabbed his jacket off the back of a chair. "Come on, Yugi. We're gonna go talk to some feds."

"Have fun," Tristan said. "Make sure they don't arrest you."

"For what?"

"I don't know, stupidity? Can they do that yet?"

Joey said something that made Atem call out a reprimand from the living room, then dragged Yugi out the door.

Duke leaned back in his chair. "Well, at least we have a game plan now. Seriously, though… all of this over a card game? Man, and you guys wonder why I never got into all that Duel Monsters stuff."

"Says the guy who's got Téa tied up in his basement."

"Listen to you," Mai grumbled. "Wherever the hell Téa went, couldn't she have taken me with her? Dishes in go in the machine, boys. I don't do hand washing."

"I've gotta run," Mokuba said, abandoning his cereal. "I have to start searching for psychopathic duelists."

"Aren't you all crazy anyway?" Serenity asked.

Mokuba grinned. "Just a few of us. See you later."

"See, why couldn't his brother have turned out that charming?"

"Is that disloyalty I hear, Miss Wheeler?"

"All I hear is the sound of your insecurity."

"That was cold, babe."

Serenity dropped a kiss on Tristan's head. "I try. You guys going to get going?"

"Yeah, sooner the better, I guess," Tristan said, stretching. "Have fun babysitting."

"Oo, touché."

Tristan gave her a thumbs-up. "Wish me luck."

"Hey," Serenity said, catching him by the wrists as he stood up. She smoothed his shirt down with the palm of her hand, looking somewhere towards the vicinity of his shoulder, avoiding his eyes. "Be safe, okay?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm just off to play the hero, like I do best."

"Oh, come on. You were always the sidekick."

"But the sidekick always gets all the cool lines, anyway."

Serenity stood up on her tip-toes to kiss him softly. "I always liked the sidekicks best myself."

Duke coughed. "Not that this isn't great, but, uh, can we get going?"

Serenity blushed, letting go of Tristan's t-shirt. "Sorry."

"I don't know about you kids," Mai said, "but I'm ready. Let's ride?"

"You and Duke take the car," Tristan said. "I've got my bike parked in the garage."

"Or, I can take the bike and you can ride with Devlin."

"I take offence to that."

"Oh, can it, Duke."

Forgotten at the table, Sarah turned bemusedly to her husband. "You know these people how?"

Ryou pretended that he wasn't trying to hide behind his tea, but Sarah caught the small smile he was giving to his bickering friends.

"I figured that if I couldn't beat them—and no one could ever beat them—then I might as well join them." He sighed. "I might not have been my smartest move."

"We're still here, Ryou!"

"Oh, sorry. I hadn't noticed."


	5. Chapter 5

_BeautifulWeddingFlower(formerly known as VioletBaggans)'s note: Hey guess what? I wrote did chapter! Uh huh. And Eggy edited it! We're such a team! Lol. Enjoy, folks._

_Eggy's note: Yeah, I pretty much skipped behind and added pretty words for this chapter. XD And yes, VB is now BWF, which should explain the change in the summary. Thank you for reading!_

_Disclaimer: See previous_

* * *

><p>"I can't believe I had to ride in her purple car all the way over here," Duke mumbled. "Seriously, Taylor, you're cold."<p>

Tristan snorted and pushed his bike up beside Mai's lavender car, which was parked in front of Yugi's house. "It would have been more awkward if you rode with me, Devlin. Imagine what people would say if they saw you dry humping my ass as we sped through the streets."

Duke sputtered indignantly and opened his mouth to retort, but Mai smacked them both upside the head before he could say anything that was as stupid as the things coming out of Tristan's mouth.

That was sheer talent, seeing as she was reapplying her lipstick with her other hand, balancing a compact mirror on her knees. "Shut up, both of you. Next time, Devlin, you're walking."

He scowled. "I get it. You two are prejudiced. You have something against boys with long hair, right?"

"No, of course not," Mai said distractedly, focusing back on her lipstick. "We like Ryou just fine."

Duke rolled his eyes and plucked the tube out of her hand.

"Give it," Mai said, "or it's going on your face."

Duke looked at himself in the mirror and seemed to seriously consider it. "You win," he said finally, depositing the tube in Mai's outstretched hand. "What are we doing, then?"

"Someone's got to get clothes for Atem and Yugi," Mai said. "Crisis or not, they don't have to stink. Why don't I run inside while you two bozos go see if any of the neighbors saw anything yesterday?"

Duke and Tristan looked at each other and shrugged. "Okay," Tristan said. "Don't get lost, by yourself, Duke."

"Bite me."

Mai sighed and watched them head off in opposite directions, presumably to knock on the neighbors' doors and bother them. Then she trotted inside the empty house softly, her boots clicking on the floor.

As Mai was trying to remember where Yugi and Téa's room was, something shuffled upstairs. Mai froze, and then backed out as silently as she could.

"Duke!" she hissed as soon as she got outside. "Get over here!"

"Huh?" Duke peered at her from across the street. "What's that, Mai?" he shouted. "I can't hear you!"

"Shh!"

"What?" Duke said, leaving the front porch of some unfortunate neighbor.

Mai pressed a finger to her lips and motioned inside with one hand. "There's someone in there. Upstairs."

"Well, then we'll surprise them," Duke said firmly. "It could be the guy who kidnapped Téa. We'll ambush him. C'mon."

Duke and Mai slipped out of their shoes and carefully tiptoed up the steps. _Of all the days to wear heels, _Mai thought ruefully. _I need to learn how to think this stuff through._

"On three, we'll run in_," _Duke whispered. Mai nodded and held her heels tighter.

Duke glanced over his shoulder and held up one finger, then another, and finally—

"Three!"

"AIII!"

With identical battle cries, Mai and Duke jumped into Yugi and Téa's master bedroom.

Their entrance shocked a man with bright red hair up out of the dresser drawers, sending him stumbling across the room. "Son of a—!"

Mai shouted and launched at the man with her heel, but he came up with a frying pan and smashed it into the side of her head. She dropped limply to the ground and didn't move.

"Shit! Where the hell did you get a frying pan?"

Kitchen, duh. Duke snatched up Mai's abandoned heel, ducked the first swing of the frying pan, and attacked with all the power of a bright red stilleto.

Randomly, Duke found himself hoping that Yugi and Téa wouldn't mind the fact that he was getting blood all over their carpet.

"Oh yeah! That's why you don't mess with Duke Dev -!"

Then the man hit him in the back of the head with the frying pan.

With one final glare at his unconscious attackers, the man stole quietly out of the window with Téa's things, escaping once again.

Granted, he was escaping into suburbia, but it was a start.

* * *

><p>"Sir, the police have already searched the house. There isn't even a fingerprint we can go on."<p>

"Bullshit!" Joey snarled, slamming his hands down on the table. "They must have left something!"

"Joey, if there's nothing there, there's nothing there," Yugi sighed, rubbing at his temples. "Arguing with the lady isn't helping."

Joey growled and pushed away from the counter angrily. "I can't take this."

Yugi watched him storm out of the police station and slamming the glass doors behind him roughly. he winced and shot a half-apologetic smile at the woman. "I'm sorry. He's more worried about this than I think I am."

"I understand," the woman said sympathetically. Her expression almost made up for the fact that she probably said the same thing twenty different times a day. "I really do. I wish there was more we could do, Mr. Mouto. I'm sorry for your tragedy."

Twenty-five. Probably before lunch.

"But these men left nothing that could help," the woman was saying. "We're looking into it with all our resources."

_Sure you are,_ Yugi wanted to say. _That's why my wife is still missing._ But he didn't, because that was rude. It was rude and unfair, because really, this woman knew him about as well as she knew every other person who came into this station. It was her job, and she was doing it. So Yugi swallowed his retort, forced a smile, and bid her a polite goodbye.

He did swipe one of the mints sitting on her desk, though.

The fact that they were complementary anyway did not mean a thing.

He left the police station and found Joey leaning outside against a railing, smoking a cigarette.

"I hate cops," Joey said after a minute. "I just really hate cops."

"Does Mai know you still smoke?"

Joey took one last deep drag and dropped it on the ground, crushing it under his shoe. "I've been trying to quit. Anything?"

Yugi shook his head and slid to the ground, feeling very much like a lost teenager again. _Why did you have to leave, Yami? _he thought bitterly. _Things were so much easier when you were here. You'd know what to do._

_Don't doubt yourself Aibou, _a deep and highly amused voice whispered in his ear. Yugi looked around, but the familiar words were already gone, lost to the wind.

Yugi sighed. _And now I'm going crazy. Man, this day is a blast._

His moping was inturrupted when Joey's phone rang shrilly.

Yugi raised an eyebrow in at Joey's pointed ignoring of the cellular nuciance. "You gonna get that?"

Frowning, Joey dug the phone out of his pocket and groaned when he saw the caller ID. "It's Tristan."

"Answer it," Yugi murmured.

Joey rolled his eyes and flipped open the phone. "What is it, Tristan?"

Yugi focused his attention somewhere towards the distance, playing with a piece of lint on his pants.

Then, a moment later, Joey shouted, "_What_?"

Yugi jumped. "What—?" he repeated.

"What do you mean you found them in Yugi's bedroom unconscious?"

He heard Tristan shout over Joey's curses, which was a feat, seeing as they were steadily increasing in volume. _"Look, you idiot, someone knocked them out! I've taken them to Domino General…get your ass over here!" _

_"_What?" Yugi said again, totally lost.

The line apparently went dead, because Joey swore one more time and snapped the phone shut. Using one hand to drag Yugi to his feet, he said, "Mai's hurt. We gotta get to the hospital."

"But what about—"

"Yug', there's no time! Mai's _hurt!_"

Yugi took a deep breath and whooshed it out against his bangs. "Okay. I'll just call the others on our way there."

Joey let go of his jacket and ran to his car, jumping into the driver's seat and failing to start it in one smooth motion as he fumbled for his keys. "Get _in,_ Yugi!"

Yugi stared at Joey for half a second before climbing into the passenger side awkwardly. When had Joey become a character in _Need for Speed_? He sighed and pulled out his phone to call Ryou as Joey hit the gas and sped toward Domino General Hospital.

* * *

><p>"I wanna play Mario Kart!"<p>

"Tough luck! We're playing Kurby!"

"Mario Kart!"

"Kurby!"

"Mario Kart!"

"Kurby!"

"_Mario Kart!_"

"_Kurby!_"

"Enough!" Serenity finally cried over the bickering kids' heads, throwing her bridal magazine down. "Enough! Time out for both of you! I want you to go in opposite directions of the house and amuse yourselves quietly for one hour. You can come out when I say so."

Suddenly sullen, Atem and Amane parted, glaring at each other as if to say, _You started it_.

Sarah smirked at her knitting, and Ryou rolled his eyes, returning to his novel. For a moment, all was silent and peaceful, until from opposite ends of the house, the yelling started, fueled by an indignant, childish squeek of outrage.

"I told you I could beat you in Mario Kart!"

"That's not fair! I wasn't ready!"

"What did I say about being alone!" Serenity stormed out of the room, and Ryou had to hold his laughter in as he and his wife listened to the normally soft-spoken woman scold the two kids.

"Give me your Gameboys now and go read or watch TV _alone_ for an hour!"

"But Aunt Serenity…" Atem whined.

"No buts. Now."

There was audible grumbling from Atem at the horrible indignities bestowed upon him. A minute later, Serenity reappeared, threw the red Gameboy she had pilfered onto the couch, and stalked off in search of Amane.

Sarah turned to Ryou and grinned. "She's going to be a wonderful mother one day," she whispered.

"To an only child," Ryou whispered back.

When the house had fallen silent again, and Serenity had at last sat back down and picked up her magazine, Ryou's phone rang.

"Who could that be?" he muttered, pulling it out of his pocket and holding it up to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Ryou, it's Yugi. Something's come up, and apparently Mai and Duke got hurt in my house. We're on our way to the — JOEY, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US! SLOW DOWN! Ack, watch out for that pedestrian!"_

Ryou coughed.

_"Sorry," _Yugi said a moment later, sounding out of breath. _"We're on our way to the hospital, and we're going to meet Tristan there."_

"Oh. Um. Do you…do you want us to meet you there as well?" Ryou asked.

"_No, just keep an eye on the children, okay? If we need you we'll call. Thanks, Ryou, and tell the girls I said hello."_

"Oh…okay…. Um…Yugi?"

But Yugi had already hung up. Ryou sighed, brushed a lock of hair out of his face, and smiled reassuringly at the two women staring bemusedly at him. "They're going to the hospital. Mai and Duke got hurt."

"What? How? Do they want us to come?"

"What about Tristan?"

Both women blushed and avoided each other's glances.

"I have no idea," Ryou said, "and no, they want us to stay here. Yugi says hi."

There were three seconds of total silence before Amane's voice came out of the back room. "Can me and Atem play together now?"

"No!"

"… Drat."


End file.
